Into the City

The group moved onwards, sneaking through the town and quickly leaving it behind. They entered a perimeter around Cracow, only a few kilometers from it. Once on the road, Adam set a fast pace. Being so close to his goal made him impatient. He wanted to reach the city as fast as possible.

The changes in the Tainted behavior unsettled him, and he didn't want to waste any more time. He noticed Charlotte dragging slightly behind but with Maya's help she barely kept up the pace.

She would most likely become a problem in a near future but Adam hoped that by the time that happened they would have reached his home already.

They walked through the labyrinth of freeways and local roads surrounding the city. The number of abandoned vehicles grew as they approached it, finally becoming a tightly packed traffic jam extending all the way to the city.

Despite the number of vehicles, the group encountered only a few Tainted. Adam let the members of the group deal with them. He needed them to overcome their fear and get used to the killing.

A single Tainted didn't pose a threat to the group, not without the element of surprise but the others still found it hard to muster the courage to fight them.

After two hours of a forceful march, Adam finally saw the sign he was longing for. They entered the city boundary.

At this point, the only survivors who hadn't fought and killed at least one Tainted were Charlotte and Steven. The older woman wasn't capable of fighting right now, so Adam hadn't pushed her to do it. Steven worried him though.

He had noticed that every time they encountered a Tainted, Steven somehow ended up at the back of the group. It seemed that the man was afraid of fighting. Adam hadn't confronted him thus far because other survivors respected him.

This situation couldn't go for long though. They would meet many more Tainted in the city and everybody would have to pitch in then.

His fears quickly turned into reality. They moved along one of the freeways going through a large part of the city. The journey through the outskirts was peaceful so far, but it was about to change.

They finally approached an intersection that created a boundary of sorts between the outskirts and the commercial part of the city. Most of it was blocked by a derailed tram.

A group of Tainted stalked the site of the crash. Bloodsense showed Adam that there were seven of them, with five on their side, and two more hidden behind the tram.

"It's time for a real fight," Adam whispered to the group. "We have the numbers but it won't be like before. Steven, Maya, and I will take on one Tainted each. The rest will split into pairs and engage the other two. Charlotte, you stay in the back and warn us if something happens."

Adam could easily dispose of the group with his skill but he wasn't ready to reveal it to the rest yet. It was his trump card, and not only against the Tainted. As such, they had to deal with the enemies as a team.

"Try to be quiet, we don't want to alarm any more Tainted that might be in the vicinity." As Adam gave the last piece of advice, one of the Tainted raised its head and looked straight at him. It growled and charged onward.

"Another one not fitting the pattern," Adam thought to himself. "There has to be some explanation for this."

Spurred by the first one, the rest of the Tainted charged after it. The group met them halfway, accompanied by the sounds of a struggle.

Adam killed his opponent with a mighty slash of his ax. After leveling up a few times, he became as strong and as fast as the Tainted. His new prowess coupled with the knowledge of their behavior and attack patterns allowed him to defeat them without much effort.

After finishing the fight, Adam focused on the battlefield. The survivors were doing fine, except for Steven. He laid on the ground, the Tainted pinning him down and trying to tear out his throat.

His ax was the only thing between him and his assailant, but staving off the beast took all his strength. Adam frowned and approached the fighters quickly. He struck the beast from behind, embedding his ax firmly in its back.

The Tainted shrieked and straightened itself, only to be pulled off its victim. Adam immobilized it on the ground and turned his head to Steven.

"Kill it!" he barked at the terrified man. "One hit to the head and it's done! Do it!"

Steven struggled to his feet, covered in dirt and sweat, his body twitching uncontrollably. He stuttered something in response.

"Just do it!" Adam roared and Steven finally pulled himself together. He hefted the ax above his head and slammed it at the creature's head with a loud yell. The Tainted was dead and Steven slumped beside the corpse.

He didn't seem to notice his surroundings, his eyes looking somewhere over the horizon. Je didn't even notice the white mist merging with him, most likely causing him to level up.

With the deed done, Adam didn't spare him another thought. The Tainted behind the tram awoke and he killed them quickly with Blood Manipulation. Then, he checked on the state of battle once more. It was nearly finished, with the other survivors killing their opponents with relative ease.

Only Maya was still battling with the Tainted, but she seemed to be purposefully prolonging the fight to study her enemy. She was concentrated, deftly evading her enemy's charges and attacking its exposed back.

Adam's eyes drifted to Charlotte and it suddenly dawned on him.

"How could I forget about it?!" He cursed in his mind. The solution to her situation was a simple one. She just had to level up.

"Don't kill it yet!" He shouted to Maya and ran to the older woman.

"We're going to fix your shoulder now, okay?" Adam spoke to Charlotte while helping her to stand up from the curb. She was exhausted and very weak. Her wound still bled through the makeshift dressing. If nothing changed she wouldn't survive for much longer.

"That's very kind of you, young man," she spoke weakly. "But my doctor's on vacation." It seemed that her mind went to some other place, a happier one, no doubt.

"Don't worry about that, I have the best medicine," Adam reassured her while leading her to the Tainted sprawled on the ground. It was still breathing, although barely.

He put his ax to its neck and helped Charlotte kneel beside it.

"Just push it as hard as you can," he encouraged her as he put her hands on the ax head. Adam saw that her eyes were unfocused. It seemed she lost her grasp on reality.

Nevertheless, Charlotte did as she was told to, pushing down with all her remaining strength. The Tainted struggled weakly and tried to shriek as the blade sliced through its throat.

No sound escaped it though. The ax went deeper, blood bubbling around its blade and streaming on Charlotte's hands.

It was done. The creature kicked for the last time and grew still. White mist rose from its corpse and merged with Charlotte.

The rest of the group gathered around her at this point and looked at her taken aback, as her wound stopped bleeding and mended itself quickly. Charlotte stood up unsteadily. She focused on the Tainted and picked up the ax embedded in its throat.

She shouted with anger and split its head with one swift motion. Afterward, she returned the weapon to Adam.

"They killed my son before my very own eyes, ripped him to pieces," she explained, tears welling in her eyes. "Thank you for everything."

"You are welcome," Adam replied delightedly. It was the best outcome he could hope for. There was the last problem he had to resolve. Steven.

After the fight, he had stayed by the Tainted he had killed, quiet and unmoving. Adam had to wake him up from this stupor before they could move on.

As Maya took care of Charlotte, Adam approached Steven slowly.

"Hey man, are you all right?", he asked, unsure of what was happening inside his head.

"I just couldn't do it," Steven replied quietly, his voice nothing more but a whisper. "I was paralyzed. This beast would have slaughtered me. I don't want to do it ever again. I don't want to feel that way." At this point, his voice drifted into an inaudible mumble, his hands tightening around the ax shaft.

"You have to get a grip, Steven. This is how the world looks now. Kill or be killed. At least until we reach safety." Adam gripped him by the arm and pulled him up to his feet.

"Safety, yes!" Steven woke up at these words. He looked at Adam with a renewed hope in his eyes. "Are we going to reach safety soon?"

"Yes, we are," Adam reassured him. The man seemed traumatized and acted more akin to a child, but at least he became responsive again.

They finally could move forward.